Death Rites, Alicia Giménez-Bartlett

Just a quick mention of “Death Rites” by Giménez-Bartlett. This is a police procedural set in Barcelona, Spain. It features a female detective who is on her first case. While this investigation is going she has to deal with a very old fashioned partner who is assigned to her, her two ex-husbands and moving into a new home as part of her settling her life. The crime itself is interesting and happily not a blood soaked murder spree, but what made this interesting was the life of our detective, which is not simple but one that is believable and by turns somewhat sad, funny and a bit creepy in how accurately it represents the struggles of a person who wants to accomplish something in life that is their own thing. I read this book on a lazy Sunday afternoon and that is how I would describe this book. A lazy afternoon book that takes you to an exotic setting and allows you to follow the exploits of some interesting folks. A good entertainment.